Indie JRPG YIIK Detailed

I’m sure you remember all the fuss from 1999 about the Y2K bug right? Predicted to cause utter carnage with computer systems worldwide as soon as the date rolled over to 2000, it has become the inspiration for AckkStudios to develop a Japanese-style RPG based on the whole thing.

Andrew Allanson, the Co-director from the studio explained a little more about the game on the NA Blog.
“When an erratically-behaving elevator claims the life of a young woman, unemployed recent college graduate Alex Eggleston takes to a primitive 1990s message-board to find answers about the death of this stranger. His quest for answers leads to more questions as his research points him to a mysterious van the internet has dubbed the ‘Death Cab.’”

Citing inspiration from the Mother and Haruki Murakami series of games, YIIK is set to feature a 400-page script, a voice cast which includes Chris Niosi, Andrew Fayette, Michaela Laws, Melanie Ehrlich, Brittany Lauda, Anthony Sardinha, and Clifford Chapin as well as some unique gameplay elements.

The most intriguing of these is the “Mind Dungeon”, an area which you can call upon – quite literally – in order to beef your character up prior to a boss fight, as Andrew explains in more detail.
“Enemies can be seen on the map. Making contact an enemy triggers the battle. However, once you kill this enemy, they are gone forever. We want to encourage players to find and hunt down as many enemies as possible.

So, what happens if you have killed all the enemies and you’re still not strong enough for the boss? Well, get on a pay phone (in the game) and dial #333. This will take you inside the Mind Dungeon, which is a place that solely exists for grinding, as well as finding chests that contain new moves that are hidden and cannot be acquired through leveling up naturally.

However, you can’t just jump into the Mind Dungeon. Defeating enemies and talking to NPCs can unlock keys for the mind dungeon, which allow you to proceed. So if you want to max out your characters, you’ll really have to hunt down every key and NPC.”

YIIK is still in development, but an early build is going to be playable at PlayStation Experience, so those lucky enough to be heading there will be able to get some hands on with the turn based gameplay. We will bring you more news on YIIK as we have it!

Paul founded The Vita Lounge and is the Executive Editor, but still likes to get involved with the odd piece of news or a review. 35 years young and gaming since 1990, he has a preference for Action/RPG games, Shooters, Racing Games (despite ironically not being able to drive!) and quite partial to a game of FIFA.